Movie and Television Review and Classification Board
MTRCB Classification ratings Movies Summary Unrestricted General Audience (“G”) G''' '''Viewers of all ages are admitted. A “G” classification advises parents or supervising adults that the film is suitable for all audiences. A film classified as “G” shall, in the judgment of the Board, meet the following criteria: # Theme – The film should not contain violence, threat, abuse, horror, or other themes that may cause fear or disturbance to a young child’s mind. # Language – The film may contain dialogue or other word representations beyond polite language, but profane, offensive, and sexually-suggestive language or gestures shall not be allowed. # Nudity – The film may contain occasional, as well as natural non-sexual nudity. # Sex – The film cannot contain and depict sexual content. # Violence – The depiction of any violence must be mild, brief, infrequent, and unlikely to cause undue anxiety or fear to young children. # Horror – The depiction of horror and frightening scenes should be mild, brief, infrequent, and unlikely to cause undue anxiety or fear to young children. # Drugs – There shall be no depiction of, or reference to, prohibited drugs or their use. Parental Guidance Suggested (“PG”) PG Viewers of all ages, but parental guidance is advised. A “PG” classification advises parents or supervising adults that the film may contain any of the elements that may be suitable for younger viewers. A film classified as “PG” shall, in the judgment of the Board, meet the following criteria: # Theme – The film may contain themes that require parental supervision and guidance, but should not promote any dangerous, violent, discriminatory, or otherwise offensive behavior or attitude. # Language – The film may contain mild and infrequent swear words and menacing language. Offensive, menacing, threatening language and references to sex shall always be suitable for younger viewers. Infrequent, brief and justifiable sexually-suggestive language may be allowed. # Nudity – The film may contain occasional, as well as natural non-sexual nudity. # Sex – The depiction of sexual content may be allowed, but it should be discreet, infrequent, and not prolonged. # Violence – The depiction of non-gratuitous violence and suffering should be minimal, and without intense detail;. # Horror – The depiction of brief and infrequent horror and frightening scenes shall be allowed. # Drugs – There shall be no depiction of, or reference to, prohibited drugs or substances and their use. Restricted Restricted–13 (“R-13”) R-13 ' Viewers who are 13 years old and above can be admitted'. An “R-13” classification advises parents and supervising adults that the film may contain any of the elements that may not be suitable for children below 13 years of age. A film classified as “R-13” must, in the judgment of the Board, meet the following criteria: # Theme – The film may contain mature themes but is suitable for teenagers above 13 years of age, and shall not gratuitously promote or encourage any dangerous, violent, discriminatory, or otherwise offensive behavior or attitude. # Language – The film may contain high swear words and menacing language consistent with the context of the scene in which they are employed. The use of frequent and vulgar strong swear words or sexually-derived or suggestive expletives and expressions as well as the use of swear words and expletives shall be allowed. The use of sexually-oriented or suggestive language and other references to sex shall always be suitable for viewers who are at least 13 years of age. # Nudity – The film may contain natural and sexually-oriented nudity. # Sex – Strong sexual content may be depicted. # Violence – Intense violence may be allowed. # Horror – The strong depiction of horror, frightening scenes, and occasional gore are allowed. # Drugs – The strong depiction of drugs or their use may be allowed. The movie shall not in any case promote, condone, justify and/or encourage drug use. Restricted–16 (“R-16”) R-16 ' Viewers who are 16 years old and above can be admitted'. An “R-16” classification advises parents and supervising adults that the film may contain any of the elements that may not be suitable for children below 16 years of age. A film classified as “R-16” must, in the judgment of the Board, meet the following criteria: # Theme – There are no restrictions on themes; provided that the treatment is appropriate for viewers who are at least 16 years of age. # Language – The film may use strong language. # Nudity – The film may contain natural and sexually-oriented nudity. # Sex – Strong sexual content may be depicted. # Violence – Intense violence and gore may be allowed. # Horror – The strong depiction of horror, frightening scenes, and gore are allowed. # Drugs – The strong depiction of drugs or their use may be allowed. The movie shall not in any case promote, condone, and encourage drug use. Restricted-18 ("R-18") R-18 Only viewers who are 18 years old and above can be admitted. An “R-18” classification advises viewers, parents, and supervising adults that the film may contain any of the elements that may not be suitable for people below 18 years of age. Seriously adult and children are not admitted. An “R-18” rating does not mean that the film is “obscene”, “offensive”, or “pornographic,” as these terms are defined by law. A film classified as “R-18” must, in the judgment of the Board, meet the following criteria: # Theme – There are no restrictions on themes and their treatment. # Language – The film may use strong language. # Nudity – The film may contain natural and sexually-oriented nudity. # Sex – The realistic depiction of strong sexual content may be allowed. # Violence – There are no restrictions on the depiction of non-gratuitous and justifiable violence. # Horror – The justifiable depiction of strong horror, frightening scenes, and gore are allowed. # Drugs – The justifiable depiction of drugs or their use may be allowed. In no case, however, should the use of drugs be promoted, condoned, justified and/or encouraged. Not for Public Exhibition (“X”) X''' '''“X-rated” films are not suitable for public exhibition. A film shall be disapproved for public viewing if, in the judgment of the Board: # The average person, applying contemporary community standards and values, would find that the dominant theme of the work, taken as a whole appeals solely to the prurient interest and satisfies only the craving for gratuitous sex and/or violence. # The film depicts in a patently lewd, offensive, or demeaning manner, excretory functions and sexual conduct such as sexual intercourse, masturbation and exhibition of the genitals. # The film clearly constitutes an attack against any race, creed, or religion. # The film condones or encourages the use of illegal drugs and substances. # The film tends to undermine the faith and confidence of the people in their government and/or duly-constituted authorities. # The film glorifies criminals or condones crimes. # The film is libelous or defamatory to the good name and reputation of any person, whether living or dead. # The film may constitute contempt of court or of a quasi-judicial tribunal, or may pertain to matters which are subjudicial in nature. A much publicized use of the X rating by the MTRCB was the issuance of such rating to a documentary film portraying the life of former Philippine president Joseph Estrada in 2006. Certain portions of the film, especially the portions with regard to the 2001 EDSA Revolution, were deemed by the MTRCB to be inciting political rebellion, a charge denied by the producers of the documentary. Television The MTRCB has implemented a television content rating system since November 1, 1995. Historically, there were only two television ratings used (see the table below). These ratings consisted of a plain text digital on-screen graphic (or pictogram) appearing on the corner of the screen during a program's run time: However, on October 6, 2011, in order to encourage parents to supervise and be responsible with their children in watching television, the rating system was reformatted, with one additional rating added. General (“G”) Suitable for all ages. Material for television, which in the judgement of the Board does not contain anything unsuitable for children. A pictogram advisory accompanied by full-screen written and verbal advisory to the effect that the program is classified as “General” shall be broadcast for at least 10 seconds immediately before the opening credits of the particular television material classified as such. Parental Guidance / Patnubay at Gabay (“PG”) Parental guidance suggested. Material for television, which, in the judgement of the Board, may contain some adult material that may be permissible for younger viewers to watch but only under the guidance and supervision of a parent or adult. The television program classified as “PG” must, in the judgment of the Board, meet the following criteria: # Theme – More serious issues may be tackled but the treatment must be suitable to younger viewers. # Language – Very mild swear words only shall be allowed. Use of a strong expletive in a sexual context or sexually-based expletives shall not be allowed. Neither shall prolonged and/or successive use of expletives be allowed. # Nudity – Occasional natural, non-sexual nudity, is permissible. # Sex – Intense depiction of sexual activity shall not be permitted. Sexual content may be implied but with no details shown. # Violence – There should be no glamorization of weapons and crimes. No detail of fighting or other dangerous techniques. No detail or prolonged showing of violence or suffering. # Horror – Scary sequences must be mild and brief. # Drugs – They may only be implied depiction of prohibited drugs and/or substances or their use provided it does not condone, encourage or glamorize drug and/or substance use and it should be necessary to the theme and characterization. A pictogram advisory accompanied by full-screen written and verbal advisory to the effect that the program is classified as “Parental Guidance” shall be broadcast for at least 10 seconds immediately before the opening credits of the particular television material classified as such. Strong Parental Guidance / Striktong Patnubay at Gabay (“SPG”) Stronger and more vigilant parental guidance is suggested. Programs classified as “SPG” may contain more serious topic and theme, which may not be advisable for children to watch except under the very vigilant guidance and presence of a parent or an adult. The television program classified as “SPG” must still fall within the parameters of existing Parental Guidance classification rating. However, to merit the issuance of an “SPG” rating, the gravity of the material must, in the judgment of the Board, be leaning towards the maximum allowable for Parental Guidance rating. In determining the proper classification rating, the Board shall consider the purpose, genre, and time slot of the program as well as the treatment and depiction of attendant factors such as, but not limited to: Theme (Tema), Language (Lenggwahe), Violence (Karahasan), Sex (Sekswal), Horror and Drugs (Droga). In the exercise of its judgment, the Board shall take due consideration of balancing the interest of the State to protect the welfare of the youth with the interest of the broadcast networks to freedom of expression. A pictogram advisory accompanied by a full-screen written advisory with voice over to the effect that the program is classified as “Strong Parental Guidance” shall be broadcast for at least 20 seconds, immediately before the opening credits and midway in the full airing of the particular television material classified as such. The full-screen advisory shall specifically declare the content descriptors pertinent to the program being shown, such as but not limited to: Theme (Tema), Language (Lenggwahe), Violence (Karahasan), Sex (Sekswal), Horror and Drugs (Horor at Droga). The SPG rating was implemented on February 9, 2012. Disapproved for Airing on Television (“X”) Any television program that does not conform to the “G”, “PG”, or “SPG” classification shall be disapproved for television broadcast. The material shall be disapproved for television broadcast if, in the judgment of the Board applying contemporary Filipino cultural values as standard, it is objectionable for being immoral, indecent, contrary to law and/or good customs, injurious to the prestige of the Republic of the Philippines or its people, or with a dangerous tendency to encourage the commission of violence, or of a wrong, or crime, such as but not limited to: # The work depicts in a patently lewd, offensive, or demeaning manner, excretory functions, and sexual conduct such as sexual intercourse, masturbation and exhibition of the genitals. # The work clearly constitutes an attack against any race, creed or religion. # The work condones or encourages the use of illegal drugs and substances. # The work tends to undermine the faith and confidence of the people in their government and/or duly constituted authorities. # The work glorifies criminals or condones crimes. # The work is libelous or defamatory to the good name and reputation of any person, whether living or dead. # The work may constitute contempt of court of a quasi-judicial tribunal, or may pertain to matters, which are subjudicial in nature. All programs shown by the television channels are reviewed and classified by the said board. The board may suspend, reject or cancel programs, but cannot revoke broadcast licenses. Exemptions News and current affairs programmes are exempt from the ratings system (except in the case of TV Patrol, Bandila and News+ which may use a PG, M, or SPG warning depending on the content of the headline, and some regional news programs which may air a PG advisory before the show, which may violate the rules. This does not affect the program itself.). Timeline This timeline shows when did the networks first used the system (this pertains only to the G and PG ratings, the SPG rating has been adopted simultaneously by almost all of the networks). * ABS-CBN, ABS-CBN Sports and Action and PTV on November 21, 2009 * UNTV on November 1, 2009 * GMA Network and Q (now GMA News TV) on November 6, 2009 * TV5, AksyonTV and IBC on November 3, 2009 * Net 25 on November 9, 2009 * Light TV 33 on October 14, 2011 * RPN/Solar News Channel, RJTV/2nd Avenue and SBN/ETC on October 26, 2011. * BEAM TV/Jack City on October 30, 2011 * SMNI on January 26, 2012. * INC TV on April 12, 2012. The board gave a deadline of until October 31, 2011 for the other national, local, cable, and satellite television networks to switch onto the new graphic, although some of the programs adopted the system at a later date, or did not adopt at all. Myx, a cable television network affiliated with ABS-CBN, originally adopted the blue PG graphic on October 6 for the majority of their programs, but reverted to the static Parental Guidance DOG only two weeks after, only in showing music videos with graphic content. This was due to the fact that it may be hard to place the PG DOG while a music video is played along with the lyrics being shown at the same time. The ABS-CBN News Channel, Jeepney TV, Global Pinoy Cinema, DZMM TeleRadyo and DZRH News Television also added the purple 'M', blue 'PG', green 'G' and red 'SPG' graphic at the same time as its mother network, but is only applied to its public affairs programs which also air on ABS-CBN. Among local cable networks, only O Shopping, Balls,and Lifestyle Network,also air on Solar Entertainment's for Solar Sports, My Movie Channel, and Jack TV continue to adopt the earlier static 'Parental Guidance' graphic on their programs (although channels such as Diva Universal, Cinema One, Pinoy Box Office and Telenovela Channel have a full screen advisory regularly aired before the movie without the static 'Parental Guidance' graphic). Philippine feeds of Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, Asian Food Channel, Cinemax, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo People, MGM Channel, Thrill, KIX, Cartoon Network, AXN Asia, BeTV, Star World, Fox, HBO Asia, STAR Movies, Fox Filipino, Fox Crime, Fox Family Movies, FOX Sports, Disney Channel, Animax Asia, BBC World News, E!, Warner TV, CinemaWorld, Fox Action Movies, MTV Pinoy, Nickelodeon, TLC, Comedy Central Asia, and Channel M, have also a full screen advisory regularly aired before the program without or with the static 'Parental Guidance' graphic, but has different ratings similar to the same rating of its Asian feed counterpart. STAR Movies uses its own rating system, while Fox has '15' '16' and '18' and Cartoon Network has 'PG' rating systems for selected programs which contains themes, violence, adult content, and thriller. On January 1, 2013, Jack TV use the abbreviated PG and SPG on the bottom right corner of the screen indicating the rating of the show. Although, the latter does not show its sub-ratings. Which one is policy not watching R-18 ratings to anyone under 18.